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Finance releases land compensation funds
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Posted on May 31 2005
The Department of Finance has released over $4 million in land compensation funds following a go-signal from the Attorney General’s Office.
Finance Secretary Fermin Atalig said that his office released the money last Friday. The money covered four requisitions belonging to 10 individuals.
As of Thursday last week, Atalig said he could not authorize the release of about $6 million worth of land compensation claims, pending a review by the AGO.
The AGO earlier instructed the department not to process all land compensation drawdown requests by the Marianas Public Lands Authority due to the latter’s “handling of recent land compensation payments.”
The AGO said it has to review the claimants’ possible indebtedness to the government and to settle such liability—if any—prior to the release of land compensation money.
The AGO cited that in past reviews, it discovered information “which in some cases has caused us to question both the land payment and whether the CNMI government is in fact the proper entity to be making such payment.”
In an interview yesterday, Atalig said the AGO approved the release of the compensation money for four requisitions on Friday.
He said two more requisitions are pending AGO’s review.
The House leadership earlier questioned the AGO’s “delaying” action, saying it violates the law.
Vice Speaker Timothy Villagomez cited the land compensation law, Public Law 13-17 as amended by Public Law 13-25, which provides that the commissioner of the MPLA “shall have the expenditure authority over the Land Compensation Account within the Department of Finance, subject to the approval of the MPLA board.”
He said the law does not require the AGO’s approval of compensation claims prior to requesting a drawdown from Finance.
“We don’t really withhold the money. The AGO merely wants to make sure that the government is not owed by claimants,” Atalig said.
